LoJack® System Helps Houston Police Department Recover Stolen 2014 Melroe Bobcat Skid Steer Loader
- March 15, 2016
- recovery stories
The construction company that rented two (2) Melroe front loaders arrived at the work site on North Main in Houston, Texas, to find they have been visited by equipment thieves. Two of the units had the GPS device removed and tossed on the ground next to the machines. One of the loaders was stolen and one left behind. The Houston Police Department was notified and a theft report made.
The Houston PD verified the theft and entered the vehicle information into the state and federal crime computers which automatically activated the LoJack® System concealed in the Melroe front loader.
A short while later officers from the Houston PD picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Loader with the LoJack Police Tracking Computers (PTC) that are installed in patrol vehicles and aircraft. Following the directional and audible cues from the PTC, the officers tracked the loader to a vacant house in the 7900 block of Hall Road where it was located partially hidden from the street. Officers were unable to determine if the loader was going to be used to complete demolition of the house or if it was just an attempt to hide the loader for a “cooling off period.” The rental company was notified and the loader was released to them.
The LoJack® System was installed in the Melroe loader in February 2014 at Commercial sales.